Do electrons care about Feynman?
Our chief consultant explores an unexpected feature of scientific magazines.
The scientific cult of personality
Articles Tagged with science communication
The distance to the stars
A matter of small and big numbers
Having mentioned the difficulty of finding the distances to stars last week, our astronomer tries to put some unfamiliar numbers within your grasp.
A plausible assumption
It’s reasonable and makes sense, but it’s wrong
Our astronomer describes how an assumption widely made in his science in past years turned out to be completely erroneous.
Applied numerology
Why astronomers are natural translators
Our astronomer offers an apology and an explanation.
A star by moonlight
How can the Moon affect a star?
As things go in the universe, the Moon is a small thing, insignificant compared to a distant star. Yet our astronomer found that it can have a definite influence on measures of the latter.
How cold is space?
It’s more difficult than reading a thermometer
Our astronomer answers a question of interest to science-fiction writers.
Thinking in stories
The limits of doing your science in metaphors
It’s vital not to confuse an illuminating explanation of science with the science itself.
Scientists and doublethink
Using different theories at the same time
Scientists, especially astronomers, use several incompatible theories in their calculations. How? And why?
When science is an art
The experimentalist’s skill
Some scientists have an unusual skill for extracting precise data from their instruments. Sometimes this leads others to question their results.
Brass, glass and verniers
Scientists of yesterday were different
Our astronomer and our navigator are away from headquarters at the moment, showing a Professor of Physics how to use his sextant. This style of instrument was the mainstay of nineteenth-century astronomy: made of brass and glass, with precise scales engraved on them for careful measurements. The people who used them had to work in a different way from current astronomers and must have had a different approach to life.